William p



(No Model.)

W. F. & J. NILES.

BUTTON, 850.

Patented May 26, 1891.

. INVENTUHIS BY 9042M 7 16;

6 ATTORNEY WITNESSES W we noams PETERS co., mom-m mmau, o. c.

U ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM F. NILES AND JOSEPH NILES, OF BABYLON, ASSIGNORS TO THEVULOANITE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

BUTTON, etc.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 453,064, dated May 26,1891.

Application filed November 21, 1889 Serial No. 331,088. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM F. NILES and JOSEPH NILES, citizens of theUnited States, and residents of Babylon, in the county of Suffolk andState of New York, have invented certain new and useful Methods ofForming Buttons and other Articles, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to a process of manufacturing buttons and otherarticles, whereby they are ornamented to resemble mother-ofpearl or withorganized designs, as hereinaffor more fully described. By preference wemake use of a laminar substance, such of hoof, horn, or tortoise-shell.

Our process is based upon the discovery that when the laminar substancesor materials mentioned are subjected to heat andpressure or pressurealone while in contact with a roughened or corrugated surface, or aplate or net-work constructed to produce an organized design, theparticles or laminae of the material are so aifected that the color ortint when dyed is successfully retained and the design indelibly appliedto the material.

Our understanding of the result of the heat and pressure is that thematerial is rendered denser in places, and that the laminar structure isbroken up or changed, whereby the color or stain is unevenlydistributed, thus producing the effect of light and shade, and bringingout the design, as shown in the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a planview of a button, and Fig. 2 a sectional view thereof on the line as a;of Fig. 1.

The structure of horn, hoof, or tortoise-shell is such that it may beused with very satisfactory results, and we therefore recommend theemployment thereof.

One of the most important of the objects of our invention is to producea button or analogous article which shall resemble mother-of -pearl. Inmaking such articles We proceed as follows: We take a plate having asurface such as is produced either by natural or artificial oxidation. Aplate of metal will be used by preference, because it is moreconvenient; but any oxidized surface which is sufficiently hard can beemployed. lVe

have used, with very satisfactory results, a plate ofnaturally-oxidized'iron, the character of the surface of which isexactly what is demanded. The plate having been prepared, we take apiece of clean hoof, horn,0r tortoiseshell, and having placed it uponthe plate, subject it to heat and pressure, employing a pressure of,say, from about fifteen hundred to two thousand pounds to the squareinch, more or less, according to the condition or quality of thematerial, and to a temperature of about from 250 to 300 Fahrenheit forfrom, say, three to five minutes; but it will be understood that theheat and pressure will necessarily vary according to circumstances, andneed not in all instances be applied simultaneously. After the materialhas been subjected to heat and pressure while in contact with theroughened or oxidized plate, the roughened surface caused by contactwith the plate will be removed by scraping, grinding, splitting, orotherwise, and the material will then be cut up into buttons or otherarticles, which will be subjected to the action of a dyeing or stainingsubstance and polished and finished in the customary way.

In instances in which it is desired to produce an organized design itwill usually be expedient to subject the material to pressure betweenheated surfaces to flatten and distend it before making use of thedevices, by means of which the design is applied, and in such instancesnumerous expedients may be employed. Thus it may be practicable to usean engraved or perforated plate or one the surface of which has beenremoved at intervals so as to be thrown into strong relief, ora networkformed of wire may be availed of, the essential consideration being thatthe surface shall be so constructed that the lines will be sufficientlyelevated or in sufficient relief or sunk to such a depth as to properlyaffectthe material by destroying its laminar structure. lVe have used anet-work of wire with very satisfactory results by first flattening thehoof 5 or horn in the manner customary in the art, and then subjectingit to heat and pressure while in contact with the net-work, using thesame degree of heat and pressure as when we used the oxidized plate, ashereinbefore set T00 forth. Any surface or plate or other expedioutwhich will enable the application of pressure to the material insubstantially the same manner as when net-work is used can be employed.

We are aware that in the production of horn buttons plates havingdesigns produced thereon have been used in connection with heat andpressure for the purpose of applying said designs to the buttons eithersunk in or raised upon the surface; but such process and product arewidely different from those above described, in that after the materialhas been treated by our process that portion of the laminiferousmaterial which has come in contact with the plate is removed, and afterfurther manipulation a button or article produced having a smoothpolished surface. Nor do we limit ourselves to the use of any particularkind. of plate, surface, or expedient, nor to any particular color orcolors of dye; but

WVhat we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The process hereinbofore described of producing buttons or analogousarticles from hoof, horn, tortoise-shell, or otherlaminar sub stance,consisting in subjecting the material to heat and pressure while incontact with the surface of an oxidized plate, removing thecontact-surface of the material, and finishing and dyeing the same. a

2. The process hereinbefore described of producing buttons or analogousarticles from horn, hoof, tortoise-shell, and other laminar substance,consisting in subjecting the material to suitable heat and pressurewhile in contact with a cameo or intaglio design, removing thecontact-surfaces of thematerial, and dyeing and finishing the same.

3. A button or analogous article constructed of hoof, horn, ortortoise-shell in the manner described, having the laminar structurebroken up or changed, its roughened'surface 0r surfaces removed, and thearticle dyed and finished.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 18th day of November, A. D. 1880.

WILLIAM F. NILES. JOSEPH NILES.

' Witnesses:

HERMAN GUSTOW, FRED. O. RIEOKEES.

